LAUSANNE, Switzerland — It was revealed that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board voted unanimously at the beginning of the month to recommend that baseball and softball — plus surfing, karate, skateboarding and sport climbing — be included in the sports package for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

It was widely reported on June 1 that the IOC Executive Board would support the addition of these sports at the August vote to determine the program for the 2020 Tokyo Games, but the voting total was not immediately known. The vote will take place during the IOC meeting in Rio de Janeiro prior to the Summer Olympics there. If approved, the sport additions would constitute “the most comprehensive evolution of the Olympic program in modern history,” the IOC has stated.

In four Olympic Games appearances, the USA Softball Women’s National Team claimed three gold medals (1996, 2000, 2004) and one runner-up finish to Japan in 2008 while setting numerous international records and are one of only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals.